WKKO-AM 860  Went Silent in 2000
Cocoa Beach    

Original call Letters: WKKO
 Originally Licensed: 1952
 Origination of Call Letters: (Sounds like) KKO=Cocoa 
Original Power: 250-watt daytime
Original City of  License: Cocoa 
Original Location: Burnett Road south of State Road 520
Original Format: Pop

Owner(s): 1952-Brevard Broadcasting Company 
                 1959-Marvin Rothschild 
                1970-Cocoa One Inc. (Theodore Eiland)
                1975-Emcom Associates                                                                                         From the Fred King collection           1984-Fox Radio Inc
                1985-Capitol Broadcasting Co. (Raleigh, N.C.)                                                  
                1992-Walker Broadcasting
                1993-Brevard Broadcasting, Inc. ($90,000)                                                         
                1993-Walker Info & Ed Institute Inc
                1998-Carl Marcocci
                                          
History Of  Call Letters and Formats: WKKO-1952-Rock    “Kay-O”
                                                          WKKO-1981-MOR                                                   
                                                          WJZX-1984-Urban  "Fox 86"
                                                          WCKS-1987-Top 40
                                                          WWKO-1989-Urban Contemporary "KO 860 Knockin' Out The Hits"
                                                          WWKO-1991-Urban Contemporary  "RHYTHM 86" 
                                                          WRFB-1993-News/Talk                                                                      
                                                          WRFB-1998-Nostalgia                                              
                                                          WRFB-2000-Silent                                         
                                                    

History of WKKO 
Mr. Davis E. Wilson tells about the beginnings of WKKO.
"Since I was the original chief engineer and co owner of WKKO, I thought I might bring you up to date a bit on the
beginning of the station. Carl Collins and I were at WDLP in Panama City in 1951 when we decided to build a station
in Cocoa (not Cocoa Beach). The station was actually located about three miles west of downtown Cocoa and about
2 miles south of SR 520. Carl and I  found that Emerson Browne (then at WTRR-AM 1400 in Sanford) had also applied to the
FCC for a station in Cocoa, so rather than fight, we joined in a partnership as Brevard Broadcasting Company.
We finally received our construction permit in the summer  of 1952. We had hoped to be on the air by Christmas, but
didn't get our final OK from the FCC until after Christmas. Our first day on the air was Sunday, January 4, 1953. (I still think of that as the most hectic day of my life), Carl and I later bought Emerson's interest in the station and became the owners in 1954. Carl was General Manager and I was Chief Engineer.
We were Cocoa's first radio station and Brevard County's second, after WMMB-AM 1240. We were a very small-time operation at first, with only five of us as full time personnel. We were daytime only, which was the way we wanted it. We started out at 250 watts, with an old 1935 Gates transmitter that had been used in Toccoa, Georgia. Around 1954 (we) decided to go to 1,000 watts. I designed the new transmitter (a modified version of the Collins kilowatt of the day), obtained FCC approval,  and built it to fit into the existing 250 watt transmitter rack. One night we removed the 250 watt chassis and replaced it with the 1000 watt chassis. For about ten years or so the station must have been one of the few in this country with a "home made" transmitter.

From Brian Douglas; "...This station was WCKS (using CK-101's former call letters) playing Top 40 in 1987.  By 1993, WWKO was an R&B station.  Alan Dickson was the GM through this time.  The Owner Contact was Keith Walker..." "...It became a Nostalgia station soon after, before going dark in a buyout (to enable WGUL, Dunedin [also on 860] to improve its coverage)."

                                                             Photos courtesy of  Davis Wilson click photo for full sized view
WKKO_Staff_1954.jpg (362668 bytes)                            WKKO 1953.jpg (168928 bytes)
The staff of WKKO in December, 1954. Left-to-right standing                        Carl Collins outside the WKKO studios in 1953
are Bob Bruner, chief announcer and technician, Carl Collins,                                                                               
General Manager and co-owner, Davis Wilson Chief Engineer
and co-owner, and Johnny Fox, salesman and announcer (and
commercial photographer). Seated are Earline Hamilton,
secretary, and Mercer Livermore, hostess of "Cocoa Chatter" 
a local talk show (not a call-in type of talk show - Mercer did all the talking).

WKKO Personalities
 Bob Bruner
Johnny Fox
Mercer Livermore-Hostess of "Cocoa Chatter"


Fred King-1967-1972-Mid Days (10AM-2-PM) Biography In Memory
   Fred King Nov. 23, 1967
                                                                                  
Mike Greene (Paul Delaney) Biography 
Jack Gale-1963
Tom Tyler-(Tom Melanson) "Little Tommy Tyler"-PD/mornings




Bob Wooten WKKO.jpg (151821 bytes)

Frank Wooten-News and sports director




Mike Green
Melvin-John Foley
 Bill Eckerd-Afternoons
Clark Ray
Simon T (Simon Taloumis)
Mickey Martin-Mornings
"Spinner" Bob Rado
Steve Canyon-1967- "The Long Lean Lizard from Lake Charles, Louisiana"-Afternoons
Hal Martin-1967                                                                                                                      
Mike Curtiss-1969                                                                                   
Dick Wilson-1970-71
Johnny Knight-1969-71

Lee Arnold 1971-1972

 
Gabe Burton-1973 Biography


Dave Edwards-1973-1974 Biography                                                                      WKKO Studio exterior and interior
 Terry Lee-1974-Mornings                                                                                               Courtesy of Fred King
 Tom Collins-1974-Program Director/Mid-days/Operations Manager
Kris Kelly-1974-Afternoons
Jim Day-1974-Evenings
Beau Richards-1977-Mornings                                                                                
 Chip Taylor-1977-Afternoons/Music director/Program Director
Michael W. Lowe Biography                                                        
Bobby Knight-1984-1985-Program Director
 Chris Morgan-1985
Chrissy Dimona-1985
Terry Dollar-1985
John Foley         
Scott Stover-1985 Biography 
Johnny T
Rick Ryder-Program Director
Gary Henderson 
David Allen Kaufman 
Michelle Murillo-News Director
Peter David Kaufman (now an Editor at The Washington Post) 
 Bill Baker
Ted Eilands
Lillian Eilands
Sal Tee-1993-"Solid Gold Reunion"-Saturdays11AM-1PM 
 Rosa Lee Jones-1965-1985-host of "Open House". In 1966, Mrs. Jones opened the first kindergarten for black children in Cocoa. It was the Rosebud Kindergarten and Child Care Center on Poinsett Drive. Mrs. Jones was a respected writer and an eloquent voice in Cocoa's African-American community, which because of segregation, remained racially and geographically separated from Cocoa's white community until the civil-rights era of the 1960s.
 Dave Edwards-1974-1975 Biography
 Jay Kuppers
 Melvin John Foley-1967-Mornings/PD who instituted the Drake format with short jingles and a much shorter playlist 
Long John Silver
 Tom Robinson
 Paul Gardner
 Gary Sherman
Norts_La_Scene-Cocoa_Beach.jpg (10375 bytes)

From Fred King; "...Nort's La Scene was...extremely popular..." "...(it) was located one block from the beach at the end of the 520 causeway. It was straight out of (the movie) Saturday Night Fever, with the flashing colorized dance floor, strobes, movies on the wall and deafening discotheque (music)..." "...(WK)KO (DJs) handled the music there. 


Johhnys_Red_Door_Cocoa_Beach.jpg (16802 bytes)

From Fred King; The WKKO "... jocks would pick up some extra cash by handling the music here. The owner of The Red Door, Johnny Esposito, was very close friends with one of the (WK)KO owners and we promoted...that club. Everyone knew about that club at that time. The building located along the Merritt Island causeway, no longer exists."
Other Names in WKKO History
 Davis E. Wilson-1952-Co-owner/Chief Engineer-Brevard Broadcasting Company
Carl Collins-1952-Co- owner/General Manager-Brevard Broadcasting Company
 Emerson Browne-1952-Co- owner-Brevard Broadcasting Company
 Theodore Eiland-1970-President/General Manager-Cocoa One Inc.
 Marvin Rothschild-1959-Owner
 Carl Marcocci-1998-Owner
 Keith Walker
 Alan Dickson-General Manager
 Earline Hamilton-Secretary
Ron Schrader-Engineer
Bob Norris-General Manager
 Jay Waggoner-Engineer
 Bill Maschmeier-1970-Owner



                                                             WKKO_control_room.jpg (1343589 bytes)            
                                                            A view of the WKKO studio  courtesy of Jay Waggoner                                        
 
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